Nintendo mulls new DS strategy in Japan

TOKYO--Since the Nintendo DS debut in December, Nintendo has, in various news articles, said it was searching for new ways to broaden the appeal of the handheld gaming platform to consumers outside the traditional gamer demographic.

In an interview published in the current issue of Japanese business magazine Zaikai, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said, "We would like to have as many people as possible to try out the DS. For that reason, we are searching for outlets to sell the DS aside from video game stores."

"Around the same time that I became president of Nintendo," Iwata continued, "the video game industry entered into a period where its traditional methods of market expansion were no longer working." Unfortunately, Iwata did not elaborate on what new retail methodologies the company is exploring.

Despite Nintendo's desire to expand the DS's appeal, the handheld is still selling well. Yesterday, the company announced that at the end of March, worldwide DS sales had passed the 5 million mark.